This article has been extracted from the free Information booklet that FMA UK provides. To have this information presented in a professional A5 booklet, as well as the other articles please request one from the office.

What Is Fibromyalgia?

Fibromyalgia is a chronic condition of widespread pain and profound fatigue. The pain tends to be felt as diffuse aching or burning, often described as head to toe. It may be worse at some times than at others. It may also change location, usually becoming more severe in parts of the body that are used most.

The fatigue ranges from feeling tired, to the exhaustion of a flu-like illness. It may come and go and people can suddenly feel drained of all energy – as if someone just “pulled the plug”.

Fibromyalgia is a common illness. In fact, it is more common than rheumatoid arthritis and can even be more painful. Prevalence of Fibromyalgia: A Survey in Five European Countries (see www.fmauk.org/prevalencefor details) put the prevalence of FM at between 2.9 and 4.7%. People with mild to moderate cases of fibromyalgia are usually able to live a normal life, given the appropriate treatment.

If symptoms are severe, however, people may not be able to hold down a paying job or enjoy much of a social life. The name fibromyalgia is made up from “fibro” for fibrous tissues such as tendons and ligaments; “my” indicating muscles; and “algia” meaning pain.

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Fibromyalgia Association UK calls for greater awareness
and education to help thousands of diagnosed patients in the UK

London, May 12th– Fibromyalgia Association UK (FMA UK) today calls upon MPs at a closed session at the House of Commons to request for greater research into the level of fibromyalgia suffering in the UK. Campaigners for the charity, predominately run by volunteers, demand a clearer assessment on the extent of the condition ahead of an official review by NICE in 2016.

We are appealing for further trustees to aid the running of the association. Expertise is currently needed in finance, fundraising and publicity. We already have volunteers contributing to these areas, but are seeking trustees to take responsibility for the overarching administration and development.

Trustee meetings are held monthly via Skype and last about 2 hours. There is an annual meeting that coincides with our group leaders’ meeting over a weekend.

If your Medical Professional needs some education in fibromyalgia you can request that an FMA UK Medical Professionals Pack is sent out to them. All we need is the name of the Medical Professional and the address of their practice. We will then send a pack to their surgery addressed from us to them.

We are delighted to announce that our recent assessment for The Information Standard has been successful and we continue to fulfil the criteria for using the TIS logo on our publications.

The rigorous process that has to be in place ensures that up to date evidence is used and presented to people in an appropriate way. The process is ongoing and requires much diligence by everyone involved.

We would like to thank everyone who has worked on our publications or sent in their comments and suggestions for improvement

FMA UK is now able to receive text donations from your mobile. With our partners you are now able to send a text from your mobile to 70070 with the code of FMUK01 and your amount that you would like to donate to us. For example if you would like to donate £5 to FMA UK* you would text FMUK01 £5 to 70070. You would then be given the opportunity to add Gift Aid - meaning FMA UK benefits from an extra 25% on top of your original donation.

You can find a Support Group near you by contacting the Regional Coordinator for your area. If there does not happen to be a support group near you then maybe you can join with some other members and set one up. Support groups provide a social benefit as well as the opportunity to share tips on coping with fibro. They come in all shapes and sizes and we are often told how they have helped people.

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